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For immediate release:
Washington, D.C. – January 14, 2013 – The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the 2013 recipients of the Institute Honor Awards, the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. Selected from over 700 total submissions, 28 recipients located throughout the world will be honored at the AIA 2013 National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver.

You can see images, jury comments and additional credit information by clicking on the titles of the projects.

Art Stable is a seven-story mixed-use, urban infill project in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. Built on the site of a former stable, the simple, low-to-no-maintenance design draws upon the warehouse typology of the formerly industrial neighborhood. Both front and rear elevations of the building are active: 8-foot by 7-foot doors—steel clad on the rear façade and glazed on the front façade—are strung on 40-foot tall hinges which open by means of custom-designed hand wheels. Geothermal loops integrated into the building’s structural piles and natural ventilation result in efficient heating and cooling.

The new museum replicates the galleries in the old Paul Cret designed facility but provides visitors with a light-filled, contemplative space. Conceived as “a gallery in a garden and a garden in a gallery,” the new building honors the Merion facility and provides visitors with a personal and contemplative experience. The legendary Barnes art collection is presented in a 12,000-square-foot gallery that replicates the scale, proportion, and configuration of the original Merion spaces. To emphasize the founder’s commitment to education and the visual interplay between art and nature, the galleries now include a classroom on each floor, an internal garden, and vastly improved lighting conditions.

This project for the Scenic Hudson Land Trust is a boat pavilion in a new park on the Hudson River. One of two new structures created for Long Dock Park, the Pavilion is a threshold to the Hudson River. The roof is a plane of corrugated steel that parallels a wide cumaru wood deck where boats launch. Secure storage for up to 64 kayaks or canoes, a changing room and storage area are enclosed by aluminum bar grating panels. Enabling both contemplation and athletic activity, the project establishes an affirmative relationship between the public and the Hudson River.

Developed by The Hampshire Companies, CENTRA re-imagines an obsolete dated existing structure into a state-of-the-art office experience. By strategically grafting a 10,000-square-foot addition to the top floor, the presence of the project not only doubles, but it offers an urban room conspicuously absent within the local ‘sub’ urban context. The new high-performance enclosure, the expressive structural asymmetrical tree-column and truss supporting the fourth floor extension, and the new garden light wells all work in concert to bring a third more rentable area, and a dynamic aesthetic that focuses on the integration of the natural environment with new urban civic spaces.

The addition to the Lee Hall College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities at Clemson University is an ultra-energy efficient building. The 55,000-square-foot addition was conceived to accommodate the expanding needs of the college which includes 12 professional degree programs. To cultivate this sense of community within the addition, program elements are intermingled to generate an environment for “cross pollination” between disciplines through adjacency, allowing students to learn from other students and faculty though informal creative exchanges. Proximity and transparency are supported with carefully detailed glazing between interior program elements.

The project consolidates dispersed operations facilities for a 2,000-acre farm into a single centralized complex. Rooted in the simplicity of regional farm structures and local building traditions, the project challenges accepted design constraints for conventional kit-of-parts utility structures and explores possibilities for passive sustainable strategies based on a nuanced understanding of site and climate. A particular focus on material application, detailing and sourcing includes the use of locally grown bamboo to weave a porous, impact resilient building skin, and cross-grain cut recycled paper pulp panels as acoustical interior wall surfaces.

Milstein Hall is the first new building in over 100 years for the renowned College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University. Rather than creating a new free-standing building Milstein Hall is an addition to the AAP buildings creating a unified complex with continuous levels of indoor and outdoor interconnected spaces. Enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass and a green roof with 41 skylights, this “upper plate” cantilevers almost 50 feet over University Avenue to establish a relationship with the Foundry, a third existing AAP facility.

Designed by Eero Saarinen, the Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges are part of Yale’s system of residential colleges. Located on an irregular site at the western edge of the campus, it has an organic geometry, with the two colleges bifurcated by an elevated walk. The renovation focused on the transformation of the student housing mix from single rooms into suites, the provision of 25,000 square feet of student activity space below grade, and the transformation of outdoor hardscapes into a sustainable landscape. The addition is conceived as being unified with the landscape, extending it through the architecture, fusing inside and outside, new and old, and above and below.

The New York Public Library is considered one of the most important works of the firm of Carrère and Hastings. The design team investigated, recommended treatments, and oversaw a $50 million restoration of the library’s exterior in preparation for its centennial in 2011. The project addressed deteriorated marble facades, fine art sculptures, monumental bronze doors and windows, Monel roofs, and the surrounding ‘approaches’ or plazas. Repairs included cleaning (with soap and water), repointing (using hydraulic lime mortar), and various protective treatments. Over 2,000 carved in-situ marble dutchman patch repairs were executed.

This project is the result of a transformation of an existing metal shop building into a sanctuary and fellowship hall in anticipation of a larger adjacent sanctuary on the same site. The simple original structure is enveloped by a new skin, obscuring and refining the original gabled form. Although a small structure, its bold form makes it visible and recognizable from the interstate which passes nearby.

The new Vancouver Convention Centre West integrates the urban ecosystem at the intersection of a vibrant downtown core and one of the most spectacular natural ecosystems in North America. Certified LEED® Canada Platinum, the project weaves together architecture, interior architecture, and urban design in a unified whole that functions literally as a living part of both the city and the harbor. Urban spaces formed by the building’s landforms mix with landscape and marine ecosystems, transportation modes, retail activity, and civic gatherings. The glass perimeter enclosure provides strong linkages with the urban and environmental context.

The original Abbey Church complex by Marcel Breuer (1961) was modified to include a new Blessed Sacrament Chapel, a two-level lobby addition (9,200-square-foot) and the renovation of the existing Chapter House. The chapel space is focused on a modern re-interpretation of the 14th century reredos wall (an ornamental panel) that holds the tabernacle. Designed to shield the view of an existing window, the wall diffuses natural light into the space. Platinum leaf is used on the ceiling to distribute light and echo Breuer’s discreet use of precious materials in the Abbey Church. A new stair uses lattice-like steel railings to bring light to the lower level of the addition.

Located in a former bank lobby on the southeast corner of an active street intersection, the space includes full-height glazing to the north and west, building lobby to the south, and a new demising wall to the east. The fundamental design objective for this project was to create an environment of collaboration in a space that engages the surrounding urban core. The space is organized around a central wall lined with cork panels and designed for critiques, display, and spontaneous collaboration. Shared daylight, acoustics, and multiple levels of planned and unplanned interaction are vital parts of achieving the spirit of collaboration set forth as the key design objective.

Inspired by the client’s rock-and-roll style, the space is capable of transforming from office and retail to dining and entertainment. Fit within a former auto shop (built in 1917), the design highlights the patina and aesthetics of its former life, featuring a large shape-shifting element dubbed the Armadillo, as well as large hand-cranked pivoting window walls that merge the interior with the exterior. Prefabrication of substantial components including the Armadillo and mobile furniture including seating, tables and stages contribute to the fluidity of the space.

The new 5,500-square-foot apartment is located in a new high-rise in the Midwest. The main social spaces are lined by warm wood surfaces conceptually set within larger, brightly lit and open circulation areas. Rather than walls shear lines of material divisions define rooms and separate the living spaces. The display of a collection of contemporary Asian art plays a central part in the development of the spaces. Sculpture is used for its silhouette and to create an element of surprise. Digitally designed and fabricated reflective aluminum plate screens create a layered effect while moving natural daylight into the center of the plan.

For a technology company that deals in highly sensitive information transmitted over the internet, RA-DA’s unique play of light and careful sculpting of passageways contrasting open work areas succeeded in creating a powerful physical presence to reflect the company’s strong virtual presence. The success of this project is not only in the commitment to the study of a single paradigm that so eloquently embodies an obscure goal, but also in the flawless follow-through from concept to reality.

This adaptive re-use of a 1970’s era data center transforms what most considered a ‘throw away’ building into an unexpected and exciting corporate headquarters for a billboard advertising company. To counteract the expansive, largely windowless floor plate of the existing building, the design removes a portion of the structure to create an outdoor court – or ‘garden room’ – that brings a captured landscape and daylight into the middle of the office environment. Elsewhere in the building, additional structure was removed to connect the multiple floors into one communicating whole, promoting employee interaction and reinforcing the culture of the company as a single creative
community.

In need of a new library and understanding that the greenest building is one that already exists, the City of McAllen, Texas, decided to convert an abandoned Walmart big box store into its new main library. The primary design challenge was to create a functional, flexible library of 125,000 square feet on a single level. To meet this challenge, forms, materials, patterns, and colors create elements that organize the space, provide landmarks for visitors, and modulate the scale of spaces within the largest single-story library in the U.S.

The design responds to the business school program’s strong emphasis on social connectivity and its active central campus site with a high degree of porosity—in terms of both visual and functional relationships. The 4-story central atrium works as a collector of community activity and social heart of the school, spilling into a vibrant daylit cafe. Common areas throughout the school are organized as a series of interconnected spaces that function in many different combinations—creating opportunities to cross paths, casually encounter, interact and engage outside of instructional rooms and offices.

Relocating the Kansas City Ballet (KCB) involved preservation and adaptive reuse of the 52,000-square-foot historic Power House at Kansas City’s Union Station, a former coal-burning plant completed in 1914. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, the building sat abandoned from the 1970s until 2006. The project team had the daunting task of turning generator rooms into dance studios, coal bunkers into dressing rooms, and fire pits into usable space, all while adhering to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

Placing 3 million square feet of new mixed-use construction above the active rail yard behind Washington, DC’s historic Union Station, Burnham Place stands as a model of innovative and sustainable urban development. Connected to Daniel Burnham’s landmark structure and vertically integrated with a proposed multi-level station expansion, the master plan incorporates a street grid, public plazas, train hall and linear greenway to create a vibrant new neighborhood. Burnham Place mends the urban fabric of the city while maximizing its relationship with an intensely multi-modal transportation hub.

This CAN$883 million civic district succeeds by connecting Vancouver’s expanded convention center with the public realm, acting as the city’s “front porch to the world.” The urban design integrates many layers of built and natural components –landscape and marine ecosystems, transportation modes, retail activity, and civic gathering spaces – into a holistic, ecologically productive whole. The excitement of major civic events mixes with the daily life of the city, while architectural landforms and living systems link with the harbor ecology to create a regenerative ecotone of the region.

The Great Lakes Century is a pro-bono initiative of SOM’s City Design Practice to promote a comprehensive 100-year vision for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. It establishes common measures for cities, industry and agriculture across the bi-national watershed, with ongoing research to uncover opportunities for the region. Since 2009, SOM has engaged scientists, politicians, environmentalists, businesses, and public policy advocates from over 35 organizations. The vision has been unanimously approved by the 73 mayors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative as a guiding framework.

Nanhu Country Village addresses agricultural goals and environmental problems through the introduction of modern farming technologies and sustainable design practices. The design coalesces the agrarian setting with urban amenities to create a compact village while maximizing local farming production. Of the 1,100 hectare site, over 700 remain working farms. Within an intricate canal network, the traditional regional character is reinterpreted to create a village integrated with environment while treatment wetlands improve water quality. Together, the village and its adjacent farmlands form a 21st-century sustainable community and serve as a model for future rural-to-urban development throughout China.

The National 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center in New York is a verdant and vibrant urban plaza that marks the site of the former Twin Towers with emptiness. A pair of voids – deeply recessed reflecting pools – are ringed by waterfalls and bronze panels etched with the names of the deceased. The Memorial Plaza creates a clearing in the dense urban fabric of Lower Manhattan and stitches the site back, physically and emotionally, into the life of the city.

The Parkmerced Vision Plan is a pioneering neighborhood revitalization program that holistically integrates best principles of environmental sustainability and neighborhood livability. The project will create a pedestrian-friendly mixed-use neighborhood that radically reduces automobile dependency; provides much improved connectivity to transit; creates larger, more usable open spaces; and relies upon rapidly evolving green technologies in infrastructure to reduce energy and water usage. The project would protect existing residents at Parkmerced from displacement, and help address the City’s and Bay Area Region’s current housing shortage for households at all income levels.

RSPH is an affordable housing project that serves as a catalyst for redevelopment of Little Rock’s struggling Pettaway neighborhood. Once a vibrant 20th-century streetcar neighborhood, Pettaway has since taken a turn for the worse. By clustering 4–16 homes around shared outdoor commons and infrastructure, pocket housing is ideal for leveraging quality in an affordable housing setting. Pocket housing provides desirable housing options between the scales of the single-family house and mid-rise flats—what planners call the “missing middle,” because such housing has not been built since the 1940s.

At almost a mile long, this urban park is positioned through one of the most ethnically diverse and socially challenged neighborhoods in Denmark. The project possesses all that typically makes up a modern park with trails for pedestrians and cyclists, outdoor recreation spaces, a market space and games areas. Superkilen is divided into three zones: the red square, the black market and the green park and is conceived as a giant exhibition of urban best practice - a collection of global objects from the 60+ home countries of the local inhabitants.

About The American Institute of Architects
Founded in 1857, members of the American Institute of Architects consistently work to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public well being. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. The AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders, and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit www.aia.org.